~ "By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; Through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures." ~ "Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing" ~ "But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy." ~ "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."~

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Chocolate Mousse Cake...with Raspberry Sauce. I made this dessert for my husband's birthday awhile back... and he absolutely loved it! Of course, I was thrilled...so I am sharing it with you! Remember my post on the easy all purpose chocolate cake? Well, I promised that I would show you something marvelous out of the chocolate cake recipe. So here it is. The recipe is adapted from Fine Dinings. Check out her site for complete instructions of this beautiful creation. This is my version and I've included some photos to help you along, in case you would like to try it some day. First of all, this recipe isn't as complicated as it looks. The step-by-step instructions may be lengthy, but that's only because I wanted to share some tips along the way. I really like that you can make this dessert ahead of time....eliminating any last minute stress. The only thing you have to do last minute, is to decorate it...which is the fun part! This cake will be a lot easier if you have Mini cheesecake pans with removable bottoms . But if you don't, I wrote a few other options you can use in the directions below. This cake is decorated with a few sauces. I only used the raspberry sauce along with the ganache. The recipe also included a Creme Anglais sauce. I didn't make the sauce for this post....ran out of time. But, I think it would be lovely if you can make the Creme Anglais. You can also use softened vanilla ice cream as a substitution if you don't want to make it. You know you can be creative with with the sauces, right?.... There are lots of variations , so make this recipe your own. Try a caramel, blackberry, strawberry , or even a nutella sauce. You can also play around with the mousse filling... try adding some orange essence, mocha, peppermint, hazelnut, etc. Feel free to make your own pretty garnishes...use chocolate shavings/curls, fresh fruit, cocoa/sugar powder, nuts, cookies(tuiles would be extra nice)... or whatever you like.I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did....

Chocolate Cake:1 cup sugar1 cup all purpose flour3/4 tsp baking soda

2 TBS cocoa (I used extra dark)1/4 cup butter1/4 cup oil1/2 cup water

1 egg1/4 cup buttermilk (I used 2% milk with about 3 tsps lemon juice)1/2 tsp vanilla (I used a bit more close to 1 1/2tsp)Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 deg. Line a 11 1/2 x 17 inch(or 10x15)baking sheet pan with parchment paper. Lightly grease the parchment paper. The original recipe uses a 10x15 pan ...the cake would be a bit thicker than using the 11 1/2x17(which I used).In a large mixing bowl combine the dry ingredients, sugar, flour,baking soda and cocoa.In a sauce pan, add butter, oil, and water. Bring to boil. Add it to the dry ingredients. Add the egg, buttermilk and vanilla. Blend thoroughly. Pour batter in parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.Chocolate Mousse: 8 oz semisweet chocolate(or 1 cup chocolate chips)

2 oz butter, unsalted

3 eggs, separated3/4 cup heavy cream2-4 TBS Irish cream (optional)

Directions:

Place chocolate and butter in a sauce pan. Heat till melted. Remove from heat and add in 3 slightly beat egg yolks. Mix till blended together. Cool. You can refrigerate it, but only until cool. Otherwise, it will harden ...and you don't want that(it will be difficult to fold the whipped cream/egg whites into it). In a bowl, beat egg whites till stiff. Set aside. In a separate bowl, whip cream till stiff peaks. Fold both egg whites and whipped cream into the cooled chocolate mixture. Fold in Irish Cream, if using.

Raspberry sauce:

1/4 cup raspberries(fresh or frozen)

1 TBS sugar (or to taste)

1/2 tsp cornstarch

Directions:

In a saucepan, place raspberries and sugar and heat till sugar is melted. Add cornstarch and heat till thickened. Strain mixture and set aside in a plastic bag.

Chocolate Ganache:

1/2 cup heavy cream

6 oz chocolate,chopped fine (or 3/4 cup chocolate chips)

Directions:

Place heavy cream in a saucepan and bringer to a simmer. Add chocolate. Let sit for a bit and whisk to blend together into a smooth sauce. Pour in a squirt bottle or use a plastic bag and cut a small tip off.

Assemble Cake:

Using a 2 inch biscuit cutter, cut circles out of cake.

Place a cake circle at the bottom of a mini(removable) cheesecake pan.

Now, on to the rest of the instructions...

Place mousse on top of cake layer.

You should have at least 1 inch thick of mousse. Top with second cake circle.

Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until hardened. You can prepare the cakes ahead and freeze up to this point. Defrost for a minute or so and unmold.

Melt chocolate and drizzle onto a parchment paper, making any shape you like.You can make numbers, hearts, etc. Chill till hardened.

Place cake on plate and decorate with ganache, raspberry sauce, chocolate garnish,etc.

In case, you don't have the mini cheesecake pans:

I bought one of these from Amazon some time ago. They are perfect for mini cakes, plus they have removable bottoms. It works great for cakes like these. In case you don't have any, there are options! You can use tomato paste cans and cut them in half....that might require a handyman:). You won't have a removable bottom, but you can place them on a platter before freezing/chilling them...and they should work just fine. Just push the cakes out gently.

Also, you can use the cut cans to make the cake circles as well, ensuring that you will have a perfect fit.

I think you can also use muffin tins....they will be a bit bigger. You can place a plastic wrap inside the muffin tin making sure the plastic wrap is big enough to encase the whole cake in the end. Then proceed with layering the cake. You will be able to take the whole cake out later with the help of the plastic wrap.

Another easier way.... make squares/rectangles instead of the circles. This way, you will not have any cake left over. Just place cake layer on platter, spread mousse about 1 inch thick, and top with second piece of cake layer. Let set(chill/freeze) and then cut squares/rectangles....sort of like the ice cream sandwiches. Arrange on plate and decorate.

What to do with leftover cake cutouts?

Cut them in small pieces and layer them with mousse/raspberry sauce/ganache/ice cream and serve in a pretty glass. Top with fresh fruit and shaving of white chocolate.

4 comments:

I wanna know how come you and your husband aren't each 300 pounds! You are an amazing cook. I love the photography, too. I definately need to see something. I don't do well with those cookbooks that are only words. Thanks!

MommaMindy, I love it how you always put a smile on my face...thanks for the encouraging words! I do try to make our meals healthier and exercise never hurt no one:)... Its funny, but I never liked cookbooks without photos either...which is why I bombard you with WAY too many photos:)...

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